A Prisoner of Birth
by Jeffrey Archer
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Book Reviews of A Prisoner of Birth
Book Review: Prisoner of of a Lazy Editor
Summary: 4 Stars
THE SETUP
Garage mechanic Danny Cartwright asks Elisabeth Wilson to marry him. While celebrating in a pub, a group of upper class men insult Elizabeth and a fight results, in which Elisabeth's brother and Danny's best friend, Bernie is killed. Incredibly, Danny is accused of the murder of Bernie, in part on the theory that killed so that Danny would inherit Bernard's father's business. That's the setup, but it is just the beginning of the first "book", of a series of short "books".
CUDOS
Many popular authors would have published these as a series of novels, each consisting of sufficient mindless filler to achieve the necessary page count. Instead, Archer has taken the "Law and Order" approach, producing well-paced clean rich interconnected stories which entertain the mind like the best Swiss chocolate pleases the taste buds.
COMMENTS
As the title suggests, a few chapters into the novel, I feared that it would degenerated into one of those dismal "English class-resentment rants". Class is a theme, but with a twist. In prison, Danny, a low-class, illiterate, "East-Ender" and upper class Nick Moncrief are cellmates. Nick teaches Danny basic civilized manners and how to read. The two are so similar physically that, when Nick is murdered, Danny succeeds in taking his place, becoming Sir Nicholas Moncrief-- the British equivalent of a Horatio Alger story--and just as unlikely. Caveat, many "Horatio Alger" stories are true.
Actually most Americans could benefit from reading more "English class-resentment rants". In our relatively class-mobile society, it is inconceivable to most Americans that a society of a homogenous ethnicity could be so fractured. The phenomenon shines perspective on what we misperceive as racial conflicts. For example, the Japanese and Chinese immigrated to the U.S. as a wretchedly poor and despised underclass, but refused to remain so, and now outshine Euro-Americans--jolly good show! When the Irish immigrated to the U.S., they voluntarily remained an resentful underclass for nearly a century, until one of their number achieved the Presidency. Let us pray that example is repeated.
CAVEATS
"Prisoner of Birth" is a bit predictable. Predicable is not a negative attribute of novels--indeed, readers are rewarded by predictable novels, albeit the reward is proportional to the challenge. Archer sets the bar a bit low. Ppredictability can become a liability, as it does in this novel, when the participants (the characters themselves) are too stupid to see the blatantly obvious. Conversely, a twist (an unpredictable event) can add excitement to a novel, but can become a liability (as it does in the only significant twist in this novel) when the author has mislead the reader, in which case the reader can feel betrayed. Note to authors: let your characters mislead the reader, don't do it yourself (as the "anonymous omniscient narrator". There is a HUGE difference between, "Spencer noticed that the scar had faded" and "The scar had faded over the years").
VERDICT
There are many other serious inconsistences, implausibilities, loose ends, and other hairballs. Insulting your reader's intelligence is the easiest way to loose stars. Is editing a completely abandoned profession? Give it 7 stars for the great novel it would have been with a little editing, and deduct 3 for the serious (but easily correctable) shortcomings.
Book Review: Low Suspense Factor & Long
Summary: 3 Stars
Writing: Unadorned
Plot: Easy To Follow
Suspense Factor: Almost None
Entertainment Value: Medium
First and foremost, "A Prisoner of Birth" is long. If you can make it through the long opening court scene, you'll have an idea that this novel stretches out its plot points. I think Jeffrey Archer wanted to write something that feels as long to read as Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo." He succeeded. This isn't James Patterson country. It's Charles Dickens. The writing is plain, spare. The verbiage is unadorned. It's pure story. The suspense is almost non-existent. We know that unfairly prosecuted Danny Cartwright will exact revenge. The plotting is clever, however, and the question becomes how he'll manage it and what kind of obstacles he'll have to overcome to pull it off. If you buy that Danny can slip into the life of a fellow prisoner and if you can buy that he is released on parole in the dead prisoner's name, you'll have no problem swallowing the rest.
Once he's out of the inescapable Bellmarsh prison, it's all about Cartwright's effort to set up the revenge. What follows is a long series of conversations (note--not action sequences) involving collector postage stamps, wills, passports, death certificates, bank accounts and a missing key. This section is mostly talk and scheming. There are lots of meetings and some land dealings in the run-up to the 2012 U.S. Olympics in London. And, since it's England, there is plenty of "Lord Chancellor" and "My Lord" that.
There is another long courtroom battle at the end it's plenty slick and neatly crafted.
Too long? For my tastes, by a couple hundred pages or so.
Fun ride nevertheless? In the "light entertainment" category, yes.
Book Review: A Confession...
Summary: 4 Stars
Let's start with a quick confession: I read this novel without the slightest idea that it's a modern-day retelling of the "Count of Monte Cristo." More importantly, I've never read "The Count" nor seen it performed on the stage. In fact, I don't even know the basic storyline. Shame on me.
That said, I must say that I enjoyed "A Prisoner of Birth" and would recommend it to others -- if only for the wonderful British accents and highly inventive plot. Pick it up for your next vacation or plane trip.
THE STORY UNFOLDS: Our hero, Danny Cartwright, is a kind-hearted but illiterate East End mechanic when his best friend (and future brother-in-law) Bernie is suddenly murdered outside a pub. Danny is falsely accused by three aristocratic nasties and he ends up in Belmarsh Prison. By a simple twist of fate, Danny is incarcerated with a disgraced Scottish army officer named Nick Moncrieff and his big lunk of an Army friend. Nick encourages Danny to study and refine his manners. Following the unfortunate demise of Sir Nicholas, Danny assumes Nick's identity - just as he's about to be paroled.
Now free from prison, Danny proceeds to battle Nick's corrupt uncle Hugo Moncrieff for his grandfather's enormous fortune and world-class stamp collection. Meanwhile, he's also plotting revenge against his three rich accusers. Enter a host of lesser players, including various Swiss bankers, policemen, actors and lawyers. Stir this mix and you end up with an highly entertaining -- and very unpredictable -- denouement.
Fine stuff indeed. Thank you, Jeffrey Archer. Now I'll have to read the "Count of Monte Cristo" so I won't have to hang my head in shame for the rest of eternity.
Book Review: Great Story
Summary: 5 Stars
I am new to Jeffrey Archer, having just read his most recent, "Paths to Glory", which I thoroughly enjoyed. This novel was even better.
This is "The Prisoner of Zenda" meets "The Count of Monte Christo" modernized. Although there are flashes of those classics it is completely fresh and far more than a mere rewrite and modernization.
The story starts with an engagement after which the two lovers meet her brother for a celebratory bottle of champagne. A fight breaks out after four "gentlemen" make rude remarks. One of the gentlemen kills the brother, but the fiance is charged and convicted of murder after a compelling trial. Thus begins Danny Cartwright's long battle to clear his name and get revenge.
This is classic good against evil with evil having the upper hand in every societal measure - money, education, breeding, etc.
Somehow, Mr. Archer keeps the tension steady and strong through Danny's trial, imprisonment and subsequent travails. A remarkable achievement for such a long book. ALthough 500 pages, I was disappointed when the book was done.
Mr. Archer has a clarity of writing that is perfect for his fine story-telling. There is nothing pretencious about his style. He sets out to tell the story and he does so in a straight-forward compelling manner. He never forsakes the plot to show off his talent.
This is a novel that will keep you rooting for the good guy and wishing it would never end. A darn good yarn.
Book Review: Archer bounces back with a brilliant bestseller
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been reading Archer's books since the age of 13 (yes, they are that readable) and at 24 still open each new novel with much anticipation (yes, the plots continue to entertain).
But of late I've been disappointed. Sons Of Fortune was a chore to complete (perhaps I expected another Kane and Abel). False Impression was slightly better and Cat O'Nine Tales was alright. But I started to wonder if we would ever see another As The Crow Flies (in my opinion, that was his last truly remarkable book).
Then came A Prisoner Of Birth. Written in the simple style which Archer is known (and panned by critics) for, its riveting storyline captures the reader's attention from the very first chapter (I won't say page - that's a bit of a stretch). This was one book I found myself reading whenever I could - before bed, during meals and yes, in the bathroom.
I won't talk about the plot, as there are many first-class reviews on Amazon.com that already do. But I will say that I particularly enjoyed the many sub-plots scattered throughout the novel. There are always a few intriguing mysteries that appear and are resolved after a few chapters. This results in a sprinkling of 'little twists' that the reader gets to savour every now and then.
All in all, to paraphrase the protagonist, this novel is a 'real diamond', one that made me chuckle, cry and curse. It's probably Archer's finest since Kane and Abel. To quote another of the characters - 'Chapeau, Archer'.